Unconscious Bias

Put simply, people who are like each other, like each other.

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Overview

Lately, the concept of unconscious bias or “hidden bias” has come into the forefront of the world of work because the dynamics of diversity are changing at a rapid rate.

Being a successful global firm requires businesses to access talent around the world; unconscious bias prevents that happening

Client demands are for more representative supplier staffing; some suppliers are losing business because their staff are too homogenous or have biased attitudes

Clients themselves are ever more diverse; better client relationships require businesses to be more culturally competent

Definition

Put simply, people who are like each other, like each other.

Unconscious biases are our unintentional people preferences, created and maintained by factors such as the way we have been socialised during our upbringing, our personal experiences as an adult and the impact of the media.
These biases are natural and we all have them, in fact they are essential to help us process the vast amounts of information we are exposed to every day. Social psychologists call this phenomenon “social categorisation”; the advantage of categorisation is that it saves us time and effort when processing information about others.
Our biases also affect how we see, hear, remember and think which can impact our behaviours positively or negatively (including our decisions on who to hire, trust, promote or support)

Raising awareness of personal biases enables leaders to become more conscious of bias-based assumptions, encouraging them to seek more information/ perspectives leading to:

Better client relationships

Higher self-perception

Enhanced problem solving

Improved logical reasoning

More positive reaction in conflicts

Outputs

By the end of this short introductory session, delegates will:

Understand how our biases are created and maintained by our neurology and our socialisation

Explore how bias can be triggered and controlled

Develop ideas to counter bias in our people decisions at a company and personal level

Be given the opportunity to take some personal bias assessment tests following the session*

*The tests used are implicitly ®. Each person can complete the tests at their own PC at a time that is convenient to them.

Our Clients

Skills 4 UK

Skills 4 is one of the UK's leading providers of gender-diversity initiatives. Established in 2006, Skills 4 supports global clients achieve diversity objectives through the design and delivery of bespoke interventions that return measurable results and enable our clients to develop and utilise the skills of their entire workforce.
Our programmes have already supported over 4,000 individuals for employers such as Atkins, BAE Systems, Babcock and MBDA.